Not Be Moved

Psalm 55:22

Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
 he will never permit
the righteous to be moved. NIV

Whatever you have going on today God's got you covered :)

Give your burdens to Him

Keep your eyes on Him

and He will hold you steady in His Love!

Tail Spin Lifted Heart!

Do you have weeks sometimes where you feel like you are drowning?  Where you feel like you can't get a handle on anything and anxiety or fear tries to take over and loneliness starts seeping in. This is one of those weeks for me.

I have felt like an airplane in a downward spin feeling out of control.  I have been trying to pull up on the controls and break this spin but not having the power or strength to save myself from this nauseating circular ride.

Sometimes all the nitty-bitty things in our lives is what start these spirals.  An irritating co-worker, a mistake on a bill, someone not returning an important phone call,  bad hair day, even wilty lettuce on a salad you bought just slowly eats away at our defenses.

Recently, I prayed God would grow my faith.  And this week, this is a new lesson on how to truly give things up and trust.  Like I've said before, I can be a little of a control freak.  I struggle when things seem out of my control.  Usually it is these tiny little things that can more easily get to me, it starts to make me feel like my world is starting to spiral out of control.

The reality is, it probably isn't as bad as I think, and even if it is, I serve a God that has my back.  This is so hard to remember when everywhere you turn, something else seems to be going wrong.

So by mid week I was feeling like I was in a free fall, no words to say stuck and spinning. Trying to do worship very hard and feeling very disconnected.

I am beginning to realize it is times like these, I have tried to take over my life and fly the plane myself.  I get under the illusion that I have it figured out and pride sets in.  What is that phase they say about pride? :) Something like it comes before a fall?  Hmmm kind of appropriate don't you think? :)

So I abandoned trying to read my Bible one morning and just got real with God.  I told Him all my fears and why I was feeling so out of control.  It was like God said to me, "You have to trust me even in the small things. I will carry you but you have to let me. "   Instantly, I realized that I was not letting God in to comfort me or minister to my heart because I had taken over.  I was trying to work out my "Formula" that I thought was working rather than leaning on God in Everything.

Suddenly, my heart evened out.  My circumstances didn't change, but God just lifted up my heart and started carrying me. What a great comfort! Verses started coming to my head that remind us of Gods promises.

• Philippians 4:13: I can do all this through him who gives me strength. NIV

• Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  NIV

This morning the verse of comfort is this one.

• Numbers 6: 24-26: “The Lord bless you
  and keep you;
   the Lord make his face shine on you
  and be gracious to you;
   the Lord turn his face toward you
  and give you peace.”’ NIV

What a loving comforting God we have!
What are you fighting lately that has got you in a Tail Spin?  Give it to God even if you can't see the answer.  Trust that He will show you the way and take care of things for your good! You will be amazed at how He carries you! 

Endurance, Encouragement, & Hope!

Do you feel some days you struggle with stamina for your life?  I definitely do!  I'm not good at long suffering or perseverance either.  I get a little better as I get older but it is not my strong suit.

So this running thing for me is going to stretch me! A lot! As a kid I was always good at the short races. Put me in a 50 yard dash any day! I won in  5th grade :)  But I stunk in the mile run. I just couldn't wrap my mind around running that long.  I had no endurance.

I have run 6 of the last 8 days trying to get ready for the running part of this team triathlon.  I almost didn't run tonight because I wanted to eat dinner with my folks.  They eat dinner early and I try and run before I eat dinner, but I ran 2 hours after dinner with them, and it went good.

Something that is helping me is that I am using my inhaler before I run.  I have exercise induced asthma and before I knew that fact, running was just miserable.  It isn't too bad now.  It is nice to run without feeling like you are dying to catch your breath.

I notice I am able to run longer since I start,  3 minutes straight now at a time.  I know to many of you that may sound ridiculous, but for me this is an achievement. I do feel my body get stronger and am able to keep the pace going.  It is really interesting now being able to monitor my muscles and such now that I'm not gasping for air.

So as I was running tonight and feeling the increase ease of running little longer, I was thinking about how God strengthens us and gives us endurance for our lives.  We all need Him and His inhaler :), the Holy Spirit to keep running the race of faith.  We are all at different stages of our endurance.  But life's bumps and huge waves continue to give opportunities to call on and trust God to build our strength and endurance in Him.

• Romans 15:4-6 has such great message for this: " For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
   May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" NIV

This passage of Romans reinforces God is the giver of endurance and encouragement and how the scripture teaches us endurance and encourages us for giving hope and glorifying God!

Wherever you are at in the race, the beginning, middle, or have been in the race for a long time, God can and will lift us up and give us the endurance and hope we need for the race.  It's not easy some times but over time, we can start to see that we don't get ruffled as easily with circumstance we had a melt down over even just six months ago. Slowly but surely we start to feel those spiritual muscle flexing and our lungs begin able to go longer and longer with less effort, because we are growing in God!

Whats is demanding endurance from you right now? Work, family stress, a sick loved one, or maybe you are ill and suffering. God is with you and is longs to help build your endurance and encourage and give you hope! Stay in the race! In God you are stronger than you think!

Overcomers!

The battle rages on this week with me and food.  I promised to tell the truth.  The truth is I have had some victories this week and I have had some failures.  This is a war to keep me in bad habits that will cloud my mind and make me ineffective.  Feeling disconnected and lonely is what drives me to want to turn to food.

Again, for me being single is a struggle.  At 7 pm at night my friends are putting their kids to bed and spending quality time with their husbands.  I'm home alone.  Many nights I'm okay with that, but I have times where loneliness creeps in for a while.  Sometimes, I have weeks where I just can't seem to pull out of it.

The temptation is to eat bad to feel better, but that only makes me feel worse, which makes want to eat more etc.  A downward spiral.  I cannot lie, this week has been very hard.  I know eating bad also clouds my vision of God because I get tired and lethargic.  I will know that this will mess me up, I will even pray about it, but then instead of trusting God to help me at the last minute I will sometimes still deliberately do the opposite and eat anyways. It is a real stronghold in my life.  Habits that are so ingrained they have a significant addictive hold.

How do I overcome this?  I know it has to come through God.  After all God has done in my life why do I struggle so hard to give these things up to Him?  Like any relationship, its a growing process.  Do you initially and immediately 100%  trust and give up your whole self and secrets to another person? Some of us might say yes, but if we really think about it, in the deep recesses of our soul, we don't really.  It takes time, spending time with that person to feel you can truly trust them with the inner most dark secrets of yourself.

It is the same with God.  We initially see God work and move in our lives in a mighty way and feel like we give ourselves over 100% to Him as a Christian.  He works in our lives and we feel good because He helps us with the small battles and sin.  As we spend time with Him we learn to trust Him more.

But then the devil begins to notice that we are changing and headed in a direction we could really be fruitful. He starts pulling out the big guns against us.  He drags out the big ugly sins that we really like to pretend don't exist, the ones we just can't seem to shake.

So this is going to be a hard one for me.  It is really an addiction. I like numbing out with food.  But I know in the long haul it will destroy my health and keep me in a haze not being able to really see or hear God to really live out my potential and the plans God has for me.  God is trying to help me give it up and let Him be the only thing I look for when I'm feeling down or lonely. Rather than making food or anything else my idol.

I love this verse in I Corinthians 4:7-10

•  "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all- surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body" NIV

It says that because we give our lives to God,  we will be pressed from every side, we may even be knocked down, but with keeping our faces to God, we will NOT be crushed or destroyed.  We are OVER-COMERS in Jesus!

Jesus warns His disciples that they will have trouble also in John 16:33.

•   “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." NIV

Isn't that a great promise!  This lifts me up this morning even in my fatigue and feelings of failure this week.  Why? Because My God Has Already OVERCOME for me and He will help me in my trouble with this.

What do you struggle to break free from in your life?  What addictions or things keep you stuck and lost struggling to see God? What do you have trouble trusting God with?

You are not alone!  Lets remember together, Jesus has OVERCOME the world and the devil, and He will help us too!  We died in Him and we are born again to share in His victory over this world and schemes of the devil.

We Are OVER-COMERS in JESUS! 

Best Armor Ever!

This morning it was hard to wake up.  Even after going to bed early, still dragging my feet.  Emotionally and spiritually, I have been through a battle over the last couple days.  And I feel it.  Like being sore after an accident.

I know a lot of times people start talking about God and speak of His love and goodness and it can seem like all sunshine and fairy tales.  Honestly, God IS amazing and His love and goodness IS miraculous and wonderful! But I would be awry to say that the Christian walk is all sugar and spice and everything nice.

The Bible warns us about the devil in 1 Peter 5:8

• "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

Sometimes in the blessings God gives I get lost in that and forget that the devil hates it when I grow in God and try to reach others.  He goes on attack and tries to devour and steal my hope, faith, joy, and peace by trials and distractions in my life.  He has watched me for 39 years.  He knows what my weakness are and how to trip me up to try and get me to doubt God.

So I shared my faith with someone, I felt like God lifted me up and reminded me to wait on Him.  I was feeling Good.  But the devil attacks and I being to feel disconnected over the weekend and put in positions where my singleness really shows and makes me feel odd and out of place. Again like a lion, the devil tries to isolate me from the pack and circle me and feed me lies so I give up and doubt God.

Loneliness crept into my heart and by Sunday night I was feeling emotionally drained.  Even yesterday I struggled to be my usual chipper self to my pt.'s and longing for the work day to be over so I could go home and hide. I prayed the whole day just giving my pain to God. I got home and I was in my PJ's at 6:30pm and ready for bed and my sister-in-law stopped by with my 2 year old niece.  My soul refreshed some from the long day.

This morning I still struggle, but I remember that I came out of a battle.  Every time I step out in faith and try to reach out to others for God the devil is going to try and take me down.  Jesus warns His disciples that they will face many struggles and some will even be put to death because of the Gospel message.

Even though, these days were rough and I still feel emotionally drained God gives me what I need to fight and protects me from the devils attacks as long as I keep giving things to Him and keep my face toward Him.  Ephesians 6:10-12

•    "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. " NIV

Are you finding yourself getting closer to God?  Are you trying to share your faith with another? Are you trying to step out in faith in service to God?  The devil will attack.  He will try and isolate you and take you down and shatter your faith, but GOD IS STRONGER.  Turn to God, tell Him you struggle, and put on the full armor of God and call on Him.  In God you WILL win  the battle!